Currently head of the corporate department in Asia at U.K. law firm Herbert Smith, Mr. Alder was previously a board member and executive director of corporate finance at the watchdog, before returning to Herbert Smith in 2004.

There’s an interesting little study cited in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, showing that China is the biggest in a not so prestigious category: U.S. securities lawsuits.

Most of the suits were against Chinese companies that listed in the U.S. in the past two years, and Chinese firms represented 43% of all suits against foreign companies in 2010. WSJ legal reporter Ashby Jones notes it’s a particular tactic these firms use when listing in the U.S. that’s drawn attention:

In regard to the suits against Chinese companies, the study shows that nine out of the 12 companies sued were listed on U.S exchanges using a process called a “reverse takeover,” in which a Chinese company takes over a dormant U.S. company already listed on a U.S. exchange.

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